February 2, 2017

Focus on What Only You Can Do, with Elise Mitchell

Episode 50:

Elise Mitchell, the CEO of Dentsu Aegis Public Relations Network, is a smart, successful, female entrepreneur and new author that is inspiring leaders with her latest book, Leading Through the Turn: How a Journey Mindset Can Help Leaders Find Success and Significance (McGraw Hill, January 6, 2017).

Elise Mitchell started her public relations firm, Mitchell, from scratch and quickly turned it into one of the Top 10 Fastest-Growing Firms included in the Holmes Report global ranking and a two-time Small Agency of the Year winner honored by both PRWeek and The Holmes Report. She attracted major brands including Walmart, Procter & Gamble, Hilton Worldwide, Kraft, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Restaurant and Southwestern Energy.

Under Elise’s leadership, Mitchell grew more than 500% in five years and became one of the top 35 PR firms in the U.S. and made Inc. 500/5000 Fastest Growing Companies, Women Presidents Organization/ American Express OPENs 50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies in North America and PRWeek’s Top 50 Power Player and Global Power List.

At the end of 2012, Mitchell sold to one of the world’s largest communications networks, Dentsu Aegis Public Relations Network. Today, Mitchell is the leading PR agency brand at Dentsu. In addition to her role as CEO, Elise is working to build a global PR brand for the network.

Prior to founding Mitchell, Elise worked on both the agency and corporate sides of the business serving as the top public relations executive for Promus Hotel Corporation, vice president at Sossaman, Bateman, McCuddy and assistant director of public relations at Walker & Associates.

Elise has been awarded Agency Professional of the Year from PRWeek, Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year from the National Association for Female Executives and Enterprising Woman of the Year from Enterprising Women.

Elise is a wife, mom, runner, motorcyclist and author. She is a mentor, a passionate advocate for women entrepreneurs, and a frequent writer and keynote speaker on leadership, the public relations industry and the secret to enjoying the journey while reaching the destination.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Elise’s journey and why she founded Mitchell
  • Elise’s book “Leading Through The Turn”
  • Finding significance in life and not just being focused on the destination but the journey
  • Why you need to focus on what only you can do and give the rest away
  • Why to be a great leader you have to admit what you don’t know
  • Elise’s four point plan for handling growth
  • Why you need specialized talent more and more as you grow
  • Creating a culture that attracts the right people
  • Reclaiming time that you spend in other ways
  • Learning to look at people holistically
  • Why you need to always make the right decisions for the business

Ways to contact Elise: